Valley Perspective : Some Races Worth Watching : Tuesday a warm-up for hard-fought campaigns to come

We have a few thoughts on the Tuesday vote in the San Fernando Valley and its environs.

First, how about that show of support for Republican Pat Buchanan? Well, it won’t matter a whit come November. But we do think that the chances have increased for a visit here from Bob Dole between now and the election.

In the Congress, we might just have two hard-fought races in the 24th and 27th districts. We can only hope that the light turnout Tuesday is not a sign of things to come. Democrat Brad Sherman and Republican Rich Sybert have a lot of convincing to do in the battle to fill the shoes of retiring 24th District Democrat Anthony Beilenson.

And heavyweight Assemblyman James E. Rogan should not be regarded as a shoo-in against Democratic nominee Doug Kahn in the race to fill Republican Carlos Moorhead’s 27th District seat. Kahn figures to run a very well-financed campaign.

In the statehouse races, one Assembly campaign has outshined the state Senate campaigns that featured familiar faces such as Pete Knight, the Republican incumbent in District 17; Tom Hayden, the incumbent Democrat in District 23; and Republican Assemblywoman Paula Boland’s attempt to move up to a state Senate seat in District 21.

That race involves Tony Cardenas, who won strong and diverse support as he easily captured the Democratic primary for District 39, which covers San Fernando and Pacoima.

Of course, Cardenas’ showing is a sign of growing Latino political power in the East Valley. But Cardenas appears to enjoy strong support across racial and ethnic lines, making his race against Republican Ollie M. McCaulley one to watch as we approach November.